Evidence of Things Not Seen
by dietcherryemma
Summary: Josh is exausted and not quite focused, while Donna has a new job in a familiar place, but for how long? People handle loss in very different ways. SPOILERS: Season 7, Here Today
1. Stand an Egg On End

He threw his coat over the chair by the door of the apartment. He missed. A rather expensive overcoat lay crumpled on the floor next to a couple of umbrellas. The apartment was unbearably clean. He literally could not remember the last time he had been home. Not that it really mattered, the campaign would be rolling out in less than a day and he was only here for sleep and clothing.

Josh fell face-forward onto the couch, leg landing on a pocket full of crap. Groaning in pain, he turned slightly and furiously removed all of the offending objects – pens, cell phone, notepad, jelly beans, pda – and dumped them onto the floor. Finally, he relaxed. For about two seconds. Then he saw his phone - picked it up, flipped it open, and started playing a lovely game of going through missed, incoming, and outgoing calls, then using them to make a mental list of things to do, people to call, or people to avoid at all cost. His eyelids drooped.

The apartment was dark but for the glow of his phone. Going through his contact list – that would put him to sleep for sure. Except for not. He was almost out. Almost asleep - but D is so close to the front of the alphabet. Pressing his shoulders further into the couch, Josh squinted at the small screen.

"Might as well," he muttered, nibbling lightly on his bottom lip and pressing the _send_ button.

"Hello?" her voice was feeble and tired.

"Hey."

He tried not to say anything stupid. She knew it was him – he was sure she did. Josh waited. He needed to do this.

"Hi."

Ok, this was weird.

"Is this too weird?"

"Josh…"

"I'm sorry, I just – I – we're here for awhile and I thought I would, um – I thought I would at least call to say - - "

"You don't have to do that."

"No, but I should, and I want to. I'm sorry. You know that."

"Yes Joshua, I know that, so why are you calling at 2 in the morning to tell me?"

"I – well, its just … I need to see you."

"Ok."

"What?"

"I said ok."

"Yeah - Did you understand what I said?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sending a cab for you."

He snapped the phone shut. Trying to ignore his own idiocy, he did as he said, then began to frantically clean his spotless apartment.

30 minutes later, he watched her walk from the cab. A bit of a role reversal, he thought, running a hand nervously through his hair as he stepped quickly back from the door. He let her knock – still trying to play it cool.

"Hey" he leaned against the door frame.

"Hi"

"Come in?"

"Might as well"

He held open the door, studying her closely – noting differences from the last time they met, the last time they worked together, the last time they actually had a conversation.

"Donna, look – when I said that I - - "

"It's really clean in here. I mean, wow, I've never seen your place this clean."

"Donna -"

"Did you hire someone new to clean around here? Because whoever you had before didn't clean like this, I mean it's actually spotless in here."

He grabbed her – not belligerently, but forcefully by the shoulders.

"Donna – listen to me. Please just shut up for a minute, and listen to me."

She stood silently.

"What I said last week in the interview or whatever it was. I meant that."

"Josh-"

"When I said I missed you. Every day. I meant that. Then I was, I guess, sort of rude– then I let you walk away which again was sort of on the rude side, then -"

"I know. It's – it's ok, Josh."

"No, Donna, it's not ok, because this – this with you is really important to me."

"Last time I checked, there wasn't really any 'this' with me and you, Joshua"

"First of all, Donatella, you quit your job- and I already acknowledged my horribly rude tendencies, so lay the hell off. Secondly, maybe there should be."

"Pardon me?"

"A 'this'. An 'us'. Maybe there should be one."

She pressed her tear-filled eyes closed, opened them, and stared up at him. They were closer now. Josh hadn't let her go. He leaned in closer, resting his arms around her waist.

"Donna, I want you to know that-"

"Shut up. Please."

And he kissed her. She pressed her body against his, wrapping her arms firmly around his neck. He shivered at the feeling of his skin on hers. He felt drunk – he couldn't see clearly, everything was blurred. Somehow they found the couch. Josh landed slightly on top of her, listening to the tiny, breathy, adorable sighing noises Donna made as he kissed her neck.

Both were fumbling, grabbing, attempting to find straps and zippers – too many years of sexual tension – he couldn't breathe. He was gasping for air – drowning.

He sat straight up on the couch. The room was black. He was alone. He was sweaty, out of breath, extremely aroused, and completely alone.


	2. The Substance of Things Hoped For

There was no sleeping now. This was not a good thing, because he knew that once campaign schedule resumed, sleep was not an option. He turned on the TV.

"He seems to be vying for the Latino vote, John, don't you think that's a little-"

He turned the TV off. The very last thing he needed was an earful from the late-night anchors. Not that it was a bad question – Vinick trying for the Latino vote almost made him snicker… almost. He hadn't had the chance to prep Santos on it, nor had he really prepared to do so. Both made his empty stomach feel a bit queasy. Pizza and beer - That was what he needed. There was a great place over by…

He sighed and sat up. There was a great place over by Donna's apartment that had the best - - he immediately stopped his mind from going there and put his face in his hands. This was too much. He was Joshua Lyman – Bartlet's bulldog, graduate of Harvard and Yale, former Deputy Chief of Staff, political pit-bull, and Campaign Manager to the next President of the United States.

Why was he so torn up over a dream? Moreover, why was he so torn up over Donna? A tiny little voice in his head, the very last smidgen of humor he had left at this point in the night, whispered to him – "it's because she's from Wisconsin!" He chuckled at his own hilarity before making a short trip to the kitchen. Thank God he paid the cleaning lady to stock his fridge every two weeks – he actually had something to eat. He bypassed anything green and settled on a nice cornbeef sandwich and a beer. Or two. Or seven. He lost count after awhile.

"Mr. Lyman, its 7:00"

Josh fumbled the phone; he blinked his eyes open and attempted to sit up.

"Excuse me?"

"Mr. Lyman, we're taking off in about 30 minutes and the Congressman wishes to express that it is 'with or without you'."

"Yeah, uh – yeah I'm on my way."

He grabbed called a cab, then grabbed his coat, garment-bags, duffle, and backpack and ran out the door. The cab took 7 minutes to get there. He was at the airport in 14. That gave him 9 minutes. He ran – no – he flew towards the appropriate hanger. With 2 minutes to spare, he lobbed himself into the plane, walking immediately to the back.

"Nice of you to join us, Josh."

Congressman Matthew Santos looked completely and thoroughly amused. This was the first time Josh had ever been late to a campaign event. Leo chuckled. It was already rare that they be in a room together – now they had an entire day of meetings and events - all three of them.

"Long night, Joshua?"

"You're telling me."

"No, I'm asking you."

Josh shrank into his seat, scratching his head and realizing that he was still wearing yesterday's suit. The congressman and Leo crowded around him like schoolgirls.

"We've got 25 minutes before our first meeting, and if you think you're going to walk onto my plane hung over and dirty, you are sadly mistaken."

"Mr. Congressman, with all due respect, I just had a bad night and would rather forget about it."

"And we are not about to let that happen." Leo smiled - he was in a very good mood. "We thought you might have gotten into a bar fight, or maybe had some wild romantic encounter"

The congressman fidgeted, glancing past his two colleagues. "Speaking of which, I need to go consult with my wife."

Josh leaned back and closed his eyes.

"What's up?"

"I told you guys, I had a bad night."

"Looks like it."

"Everybody has bad nights, Leo. I had a bad dr-" he cut himself off, changing direction. "Drinking experience. I had a little much."

His head throbbed with fact that he had a "sensitive system". Thinking of the quote made the throbbing unbearable.

"You're not usually the drinking-alone type, Joshua."

"Special occasion, I guess."

The older man turned to look out the window as the plane began to move.

"You did what you had to do. Press would have had a field day. She'll bounce back real quick. They'll be Senators, Congressman, Governors – maybe we can do something for her later on."

"Yeah."

"She's a big girl, Josh. She's got talent and experience. She can handle herself."

He sighed, wrinkling up his face with a frown. "It's just that - I think -"

"Yeah. Well, you'll have to deal with that too. But not now. Maybe call her later on today, but we need to step things up."

"Yeah. Game on, I know," he paused, "I had a dream last night, Leo."

"How did that go for you?"

His eyes closed again and his lips curved upward. "Reconciliation, among other things."

"Save it."

"Yeah. Lets do this."

------

AUTHORS NOTE:

Well hello, guys. If you haven't already noticed, the title from this story, as well as all the chapter titles, are going to be borrowed from a lovely episode entitled "Evidence of Things Not Seen".


	3. Threading the Needle

She had been accepted to college. Again. 80 hours plus what she had earned in Wisconsin and she would have an undergraduate degree. She had gotten friendly with the GW administration. 40 hours for her extensive work in the West Wing, work on two presidential campaigns, and a couple of aced placement tests. That turned into 50 hours after the President of the United States made a personal call to the University on her behalf. She hadn't expected that. CJ, Leo, Toby… maybe even Josh – one of them must have mentioned it.

That put her course load at 30 hours. Her mother dug up documentation of a community college course she had taken some 6 or 7 years ago, which left her with 27 hours to complete. Being unnaturally ambitious, Donna vowed to complete her undergraduate degree by Christmas. Three of her classes were independent studies to be performed, thank goodness, with CJ somehow. Not like she was expecting a sleepover.

The leak was intensifying things, to say the least. No one was happy. There was no humor – no practical jokes or Friday night poker games… it was a West Wing she was unfamiliar with. Still, walking through security she felt an odd sense of calm that had been lacking in her work with the Russell Campaign. She was ushered by a kid she had never seen before towards Leo's-… towards CJ's office.

"DONNA!" Margaret shrieked, grabbing her arm, "Thank God." She turned to the kid. "I'll take her from here, Wes."

"Jess, Ma'am"

"Right."

Donna smiled, and the two women turned and walked together.

"How… how are things?" Donna turned a loose hair behind her ear.

"Not so okay, but just fine."

"Sounds about right."

Margaret sat down at her desk, rustling through a few files. "She'll see you in just a minute – want some coffee or something?"

"You were going to get me coffee?"

"No, not really, but I thought about it"

Donna sat down. "Nice to know."

"How's Will?"

"Haven't talked to him in a few days. He's still with Russell, doing as much as he constitutionally can."

"Too bad," she sipped her coffee, "but I guess that comes with losing."

Donna looked up at her.

"Oh… sorry Donna, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine. I chose" she stopped herself "It was a good experience for me, even if we did-"

CJ chose that very opportune moment to open the door. She smiled, looking down at her two friends.

"Donna, you want to come in now?" she took the files handed to her by Margaret.

"Sure."


	4. Search and Recovery

"It's good to see you." The older woman stated blankly after a brief but necessary embrace.

"You too. I've… I've missed you guys. A lot."

CJ smiled. It was a bit empty – she looked oddly sad, Donna thought.

"Ok, well, what we really need is someone to brief the press… and since you did a good job of that on the campaign, we thought you might want to take a stab at that here. I'm not sure what title to give you, honestly, because everything's really crazy with Annabeth leaving and… and everything else, but it'll probably be interim or acting something or another related to press or communications or…" she sighed and rubbed an eye.

"Don't – don't worry about it. I mean, I'll do whatever you need right now."

"People are flying out of this White House. Not necessarily to the campaign… people are just… they're moving on, getting new jobs."

"Can't argue with it. That's what people do – all they can, then move on."

"Well, I can't exactly run this shindig by myself. I need you here full time."

"I can do that- but I have night classes, so the usual late hours…"

"Ok. We can deal with that. You'll start off making the same as you did when you left, we'll work from there. If I need you to miss some classes, you miss some classes."

"At least I'll have a good excuse."

"Last time I checked, 'Professor, the White House Chief of Staff says I have to miss class' worked pretty darn well. Look, you can use… I'm sorry, there are so many open offices I think we're leasing… use my old one, okay?"

"The Press Secretary's office?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Donna, we're short-staffed and I'm getting letters of resignation from people I don't even know. Get in the office and sort through the crap that's in there right now."

"Yes ma'am."

Donna grabbed her purse - - the size of a duffle-bag, her schoolbooks for the evening were in it as well, and walked back through the West Wing. She glanced over to Josh's bullpen… there were a couple of familiar faces, but not many. In fact, only a few of the desks were even occupied. Sitting at her old desk was a woman she didn't even recognize. It stung a bit.

She walked into CJ's… Leo's… She walked into the office. The walls were bare, the floor was piled high with boxes, and there was nowhere to put them. Some of the stuff was CJ's, some of it Leo had left laying around… it was odd and awkward and for a moment she wanted to leave this shell of the White House she used to work for… but she pulled herself together. Donna walked out of the office.

"Hey - you – are you an intern?"

"Yes"

"Who are you working for right now?"

"Well… um… no one specific, ma'am, I was working for Mr. Zeigler, then for Ms. Schott for awhile, then Mr. MgGarry for a week or two, but-"

"What's your name?"

"Shannon"

"Hi Shannon. I'm Donna Moss, I'm going to be working out of this office for the time being, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that means you kinda work for me now, okay?"

"Okay. Do you need something?"

"Yeah. I need you to gather up whoever else worked for Annabeth, if they haven't been reassigned already- and maybe any other loose communications interns, and you guys need to find me some filing cabinets."

"Filing cabinets?"

"There are a billion files to go through in there, and I sort of need a place to put them, and apparently the ones that used to be here are gone."

"Where do I find-"

"Find your groupies, figure it out."

She turned around rather confidently and walked back into the office. She could possibly get used to this. Of course, she might be overstepping and ordering people around when she should really be following orders and doing grunt work herself. Well, if they were as short staffed as CJ said, then it would be fine.

Sitting down at the desk, she opened one of the boxes and started reading.

--

Four hours later, CJ knocked on her open door.

"How's it going?"

"Huh?"

"Looks like you're settling in. Nice cabinets."

"I accosted an intern and ordered her to rally the troops"

"Good for you. Have at it, really." She sat down in an empty chair. "You briefed for Russell, right?"

"Well… as Campaign Spokesperson, yeah, it came up."

"Good… because I _really_ need you to brief starting tomorrow."

"**What?**" Donna stared at her in disbelief. She thought CJ had been kidding about that. The White House press room was a different ballgame, altogether.

"Come on, Donna – it's not that bad-"

"Are you kidding me? I'm not – I can't – I don't even have a degree!"

"Yes, well, you're working on that. You're what – 10 credits away or something? When do they graduate people again? We can have a special ceremony; they'll get it done quick."

"It's not like a Vegas wedding, CJ, you have to have credentials and documentation and stuff"

"Look," CJ was suddenly serious, "Toby can't do it anymore. It was bad enough before, but now…" her voice trailed off.

"Now what?"

There was that sadness again – it scared Donna.

"Now we need him to do his job, not fumble over briefings. Look, you'll just be reading them – you don't have to take questions."

At that point, Donna realized she might be fumbling a one-time opportunity.

"No, it's fine. I'll just need to be fully prepared, that's all. I don't want to get anyone in trouble."

"Good luck with that" CJ scoffed, tilting her head backwards, "but as long as you read up on all this" she patted the overflowing desk, "you'll be fine. And I'll fill you in on some questions that might come up – maybe organize a call with you and Annabeth on where she left off, stuff like that."

Donna sighed and smiled. "Thank you, CJ."

"Oh, and I'll introduce you as a Senior Communications Aide for the time being."

"Can I keep them?" Donna pointed to her stash of interns, who were attempting to bring one last cabinet into the office.

"Sure. You'll need them if you're going to get through all of this and make it to class."

"Great. Just great."

CJ stood and smiled a slight goodbye before bypassing the posse of interns to exit.

"So," Donna glanced over them, "Umm… lets get to work."

AUTHORS NOTE:

This is an updated version of this chapter – I would like to thank scififreakmi for pointing out my error in office placement – I completely blanked on where Annabeth had been, where Leo had worked when he came back from the hospital, etc. Anyways – thanks so much for that. Next chapter should be up soon.


	5. Self Detonating Capability

CJ leaned back in her chair. It was out, now. Everyone knew. Toby was gone, and she didn't know if she would ever see him again.

Ok, so maybe never seeing him again was a bit dramatic – but it didn't seem that way in her mind. He was one of her best friends - - one of the last ones still around. How was she going to cope? Will would be good. Will would help. Will was not Toby.

She felt a presence at her door, and looked up. Babish.

"Are you okay?"

She was surprised. Maybe he had a heart, after all.

"No, not really," she bit her lip, "May I use the phone?"

"I believe so. I'm assuming you mean a personal call… and as long as it's not to-"

"I'm not calling- I'm not. That wouldn't be… "

"Just making sure. CJ… I really am sorry."

She glanced up at him. "He…" she choked back tears, as Babish cut her off.

"We shouldn't talk about … I'm sorry. You should get some rest."

CJ watched him leave her office. She picked up the phone – dialed a familiar number.

"I just tried to call you" a familiar voice answered.

She couldn't breathe. The lump in her throat rose and fell as she swallowed, and she finally burst into tears.

"Shhhh… it's okay. It's alright. Calm down."

"I…" she stuttered, not really knowing what to say, "I can't… talk about it… this- this is – off the record"

"I'm not looking for a story. I just want to make sure you're okay. Hey, I'm unemployed, remember?"

"We've – we've got a whole lot of empty offices here – you could -" she sobbed, "you could shack up here for awhile… hell, I'll even put you on payroll"

"You should be at home. You should sleep."

"I don't think I could"

"I could come pick you up – take you home myself, make sure you get some rest…"

"I don't know, Danny, I just…"

She was interrupted by a soft knock at her door.

"I have to go." She muttered before quickly hanging up.

"Good evening, Mr. President" she stood, brushing off her skirt.

"Sit down, Claudia."

"Yes sir."

They both sat quietly for a moment. The President pursed his lips. He pressed his hands firmly together, then placed them on his knees.

"It has been a very long evening – one that I would rather not repeat, and one that I honestly regret having to participate in, but we must move on. This administration is not finished. I'm not about to roll over and let the other guys in quite yet. I realize that everyone is upset," he paused, "myself… myself included, but tomorrow we get back to work."

"Mr. President," she couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze, "I don't think… I don't know if I can continue in this-"

"CJ, you need to rest. I'll have a car take you home."

"Thank you, sir, but someone… I …have an alternative mode of transportation, sir."

"Alright, then. But make sure Danny Concannon keeps his hands to himself."

He smiled slightly, and for a brief moment she was comforted by the return of his fleeting sparkle.

"Yes sir. Thank you, Mr. President."

---

Toby stumbled up the steps to his apartment. He had been on the brink of tears for days, but could not seem to let go. There was someone outside his door.

"You shouldn't be here." He struggled to find his keys.

"I need to be here." Andi frowned. "The door's open. I came to meet you when you got home, but-"

"Where are the twins?"

"Inside. Asleep. I thought about leaving them with my mother but then I figured-"

"what? I might want to have one look at them before they throw away the key?"

"Toby, please. I thought they would calm you down."

He paused and looked at her.

"Josh called."

"You answer my phone now too?"

"He was leaving a message. I picked up to let him know I was here."

"Are they polling on it?"

"I don't know, Toby."

"You shouldn't be here. What if press shows up – you can't be seen-"

"Bullshit. Come inside, its cold."

He smirked a bit at that, and walked inside. It was hard to forget the events of the day – hard to even lay them aside for a moment. But, Andi made him dinner, he watched his kids sleep, before they woke up and crawled all over him which he found very annoying and very cute at the same time… but he was still broken. It would take a long, long time to even try to fix the things he had broken, and contemplating the President's words was completely out of the question… but for one night, he would try to just sleep.

---

Donna was very confused. One moment, CJ was offering her a big job, the next moment, she wanted her to help Will brief… she knew that her job was a student gig, but she was sort of upset that she was a pushover.

It became evident to Donna when Toby's trash was being categorized that something was amiss. Ok, so she had known before that, but categorizing trash _was_ really weird. Then came the announcement. Then Margaret came to her. They sat and watched. Margaret told her that CJ was going directly to Will – a necessary move in Donna's mind. So, CJ wanted Donna to help Will prepare. She got that. I mean, he obviously had more credentials… more experience… she had gotten a little excited about maybe going into the press room… but helping Will was a big deal.

Plus, this meant she could have more time to study – she would have to prepare much less, and be able to actually go to classes – a bit plus when you're in school. This was good. She tried to avoid any subject that might make her burst into tears. Toby. Josh. CJ. Even Oliver Babish made her sniffle.

Then, there was Will. It was good to see him again – good to work with someone familiar, but not so depressing it killed her to look at them. She had the whole press thing kind of under control, so helping Will prepare wasn't a problem… and he would have been fine – except for the whole stage-fright thing he had going on.

-------

This time there was no question about his credentials.

"Go right in, Mr. Lyman. They'll be glad to see you, I'm sure."

Josh smiled half-heartedly.

"Thanks Jerry."

"Barry, sir."

"Yeah. Thanks."

He walked slowly onto his old stomping-grounds… it was an odd feeling. He glanced into Toby's office… empty already. Maybe he should have gone to see him…

His eyes wandered to Will. And the attractive blonde leaning casually over Will's desk. And the manner in which her hair bounced so close to his hand. And the sharp curve of her shoulder. And her crisp jacket over an ever-so slightly low-cut silk blouse. Will was drooling.

She didn't see him. He was staring right at her. She continued her work with Will; circling random bits of what he assumed were press releases. His ogling was cut short by a massive embrace.

"Hey" he whispered, holding his friend tightly.

CJ rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyes were red and her face was puffy. "Hey."

"You okay?"

She laughed, sniffling into his collar. "As much as…"

"Could be expected, yeah."

"Not that I'm at liberty to discuss this." She pulled away and straightened her jacket.

Josh glanced back into the office of the new Director of Communications.

CJ grabbed his arm. "Come on. Sit with me in my office."

He had no choice but to follow her.

"My meeting's with Will in a few minutes…"

"He's busy."

"I noticed."

CJ frowned. "Don't be upset. You turned her down – I needed staff."

"I'm not upset, just… I don't know." He scratched his chin. "How is he?" Josh glanced towards the Oval Office.

"Angry. Disappointed. Sad.Worried."

"I called him. Yesterday. Andi picked up – she was waiting for him."

"Good. That's… good."

"How do your polls look?"

"Down. To be expected, I guess. They'll bounce back."

"Yeah."

"CJ"

"Joshua."

"Are you okay?"

She pressed her lips together tightly as they trembled into a sad sort of smile.

"I will be."

Josh glanced behind him, where even though he couldn't see it, he knew Donna was still doing everything possible to prep Will.

"Josh?"

He had zoned out. CJ raised an eyebrow.

"You should see Will now."

He nodded, quickly stepping out of the office. Truthfully, he never had been completely at home with CJ as Chief of Staff. It wasn't that he didn't respect her or want to work under her - - he just never got used to the idea. He walked slowly down the hall. Maybe, he thought, if he walked slow enough, he wouldn't have to face her.

-----

Will had a pen in his mouth, one behind his ear, two on the desk in front of him, and one in his right hand that he was using to circle almost every word in the next mornings press release.

Donna tucked her hair behind her ear and tapped on the desk.

"Look, you aren't going to have a problem with this part. Seriously. They're just going to ask you about Toby, or about the investigation or something. No one cares about this new thing – they think it's just something random we're throwing out to get them off the leak story."

"Yeah, well," Will stuttered, "that's what we're doing."

They both smiled, laughing lightly. Donna pointed to the next paragraph.

"I like this. It's witty. I mean, not that they're really going to notice – but hey"

She stopped. Will was obviously ignoring her. He stood. She looked up.

Josh was standing at the office door.

"Hey"

"Hey" Will answered, moving from behind the desk to shake Josh's hand firmly.

Donna sat back in her chair. Speaking of awkward moments…

Josh looked at her. He couldn't help it, really. He didn't even realize it.

"We," he glanced around the office, "have a meeting… damn they cleared this place out"

Will grabbed his schedule off the desk.

"Oh Gosh. Yeah, yeah we do."

Donna stood.

"Well, um, I'll leave you guys to … negotiate I guess"

Will nodded.

"This shouldn't take long. Stay - I'll take you out for coffee, okay?"

"I'll be in my office."

She swept past Josh. He closed the door and sat down.

"She mad?"

Will shook his head.

"I don't know. I really don't know. I've been here less than a day," He sat down behind the desk, "after my mentor, role model, and former boss was escorted out of the White House, I'm apparently the new director of communications, but I've been given absolutely no information other than some new market initiative, which I have memorized but will inevitably get no questions about, and now you ask me to stipulate on your relationship with Donna, a subject which no one - - honestly - - absolutely no one would dare address, ever… I don't know, Josh. I just don't know."

Josh scratched his head.

"Yeah. So… about the fallout"

"What do your polls say" Will shuffled through a file.

"Not much. Down a bit, but we leveled out yesterday. Not that we aren't getting completely attacked by the right…"

"So if he's asked about it, you echo what the President says. Verbatim. Say he doesn't want to get too far into it because…"

Josh nodded, "Out of respect for the ongoing investigation, he can't make further comments."

"Right. Then get away from it - message of the week, debates, whatever"

"Right."

They stood.

"As much as I'd like to sit and talk with you, Josh, I really…"

"Yeah. I've got to get back, anyways."

He turned to leave.

"Hey," Will smiled, "save me a cabinet post or something, will you?"

Josh glanced back at him and smirked. "You bet."

He closed the door behind him, heading towards CJ's… Leo's… towards Donna's office.


	6. Glad to See You Alive

Josh turned the corner. He was dragging his feet – his head was down, his shirt was sticking to his back – he was anxious; a feeling he resented more than anything. He especially disliked feeling this way over saying hello to a former employee – someone who had worked for him, someone who had answered to him, someone who had been his friend but someone he had held complete control over. Okay, so a few of those were utterly false.

He stopped walking for a moment. He remembered that life usually required breath, and practiced that for a minute.

"Josh?"

He opened his eyes. Standing with his back against the wall, he adjusted his eyes.

"Donna. Hey."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you need something?"

"Not really"

"Then what are you doing?"

"Resting."

"In a hall of the West Wing of the White House where you are no longer employed?"

"I guess. Feels sort of normal. Donna, I wanted to-"

"Josh"

"Donna, just let me-"

"Josh, it's really not a-"

"Donna, please. I just wanted to say hello, and congratulations."

She paused. "What?"

"I said hi and congratulations."

"Yeah." She blinked, stunned a bit.

"Donna?"

"Yeah"

"Hi."

"Hi, Josh."

She smiled briefly.

"It's good to-"

"Hey" Will interrupted, leaning against the wall next to Donna, "you ready to go?"

Josh had never really felt any urge to kill Will Bailey before now.

"We were just catching up" Donna turned, looking at him.

Will smiled weakly. "Ok. Well, um, I can wait in my office if- "

Josh shook his head. "I was just on my way out"

Donna sighed. "Josh"

"I was on my way out, Donna"

"You need to know that I got a call from-"

"Donna, I'll be back around here soon enough. You kids have a good time."

He quickly turned and started walking. Will rubbed his brow.

"He's pissed."

"Yeah" Donna sighed; looking like she might either burst into tears or beat someone up.

"Ready to go?"

She nodded.


	7. Mounting Tension ofa Well Contested Hand

Will cleared his throat.

"Alright. So, you know I wouldn't ask if I thought it was out of line or anything, because the last thing I want is for things to be awkward between us, but … did I interrupt something back there?"

She looked away.

"When?"

"Come on, Donna, I mean back in the hall with Josh."

Donna paused.

"No. I mean not really. I mean, just a little."

"I'm thinking we should discuss this once we're sitting down."

"Yeah"

She was exasperated. After an unfulfilling day at work, the very last thing she wanted to do was to sit down and talk about her former boss. And yet, here she was, agreeing that she and Will should most definitely sit and talk about her fixation on a nonexistent relationship, friendship or otherwise. They walked to the back of a familiar coffee shop, which was thankfully quiet, and sat down.

"Ok," Will propped his elbows on the table, "tell me everything."

Donna raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah…I'm going to go get some hot cocoa for me, some intense coffee for you, and when I get back you should really think about not talking like a teenage girl."

Will removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. The day had worn him thin. He was curious, of course. Josh and Donna had always been a source of confusion for him and for everyone else in the world. If something was going down, he wanted to be on the in. Everyone needed some good news, and reconciliation between Josh and Donna might bring a smile to some frowning faces.

Donna set the coffee in front of Will and brought her own mug to her lips. Chocolate was definitely the solution. Will pushed his glasses back on and looked Donna straight on.

"You going to answer my question?"

"Remind me, what was it?"

He laughed.

"Come on, Donna, I'm trying to be a friend here."

"There's nothing going on. We hadn't talked in awhile, we were catching up."

"Yeah… by the time I got in there you had turned green and looked like you were about to throw up."

"Good to know I looked nice…"

"Donna, please. He was obviously upset about something."

"When is he not?" She paused. "Look, we're both just really frustrated… with each other, I guess. He's mad because I quit and 'abandoned him' to work for Russell, who I think we both know he wasn't exactly fond of, and I'm mad because… because he let me take his messages for… God, for what, almost 8 years? Because I knew his drycleaner's name and his mother's email address and because I could keep up with his takeout orders and meetings that only existed in his head…"

Will pursed his lips. Did he really want to get into this with her?

"I know you're both mad, it's just…"

"Just what, Will? There were times I thought he respected my opinions and the work I did, but it's pretty obvious now that I was just his secretary."

"Whoa, whoa, now that's a complete lie and you know it."

Her eyes were turning red. Will took a deep breath.

"You know you weren't a secretary. Donna, you were the ring leader of all assistants, you were an essential advisor to the Deputy Chief of Staff and even advised the President when he made some pardons, and you once single-handedly saved Social Security. Josh fell apart without you there and acts like a baby when you're discussed, which is just to keep him from crying like one. You guys were best friends. I know that things are weird right now, but you guys have to work this out."

She sighed. This was a difficult fight.

"He held me back, Will, I had no choice – I had to leave"

"Yeah, he held you back. The one big opportunity he gave you, you nearly died in a car bombing."

Donna glared at him.

"So because I got blown up, I can't handle anything but phone calls?"

"No, Donna," he shot back, "Because you got blown up, he equates elevating your job to you getting hurt."

She looked down. She had considered that possibility, of course. Wasn't that very similar to what she had yelled at Amy for years ago? They were silent for a few moments.

"I got a call from Louise Thornton today."

"Excuse me?" That was obviously not what Will had expected.

"Lou Thornton. She called me today. Wants me to do press for the campaign."

"Wow. I mean… wow. If I had known Josh was asking you to… I wouldn't have interrupted…"

"No, Will, Josh doesn't know."

"Alright. So… exactly how does a campaign manager not know who is being hired for important staff positions?"

"She doesn't report to him. She takes everything straight to the congressman, apparently. I told her Josh didn't hire me before… she said not to worry, to think it over and call her at the end of the week."

"Wow. I mean… wow. Bet he hates that."

"Someone else having free-reign of his candidate without talking to him first? I'm sure he does."

"You're…. you're thinking of taking it, aren't you?"

"I don't know, Will. I mean, this whole being a student thing isn't as great as I thought it would be. I feel like it's holding me back. Like I need the degree to move on, but I already have the knowledge to."

"Maybe you should do it."

She closed her eyes for a moment. She had been trying to move on. She had honestly tried.

_"If he was giving you every opportunity, you would have grown out of this job three years ago"_

Donna bit her lip. This was a conversation she had relived all too many times.

"_Yon know, you can't blame Josh. It's not his job to..."_

_"I don't blame Josh, it takes two of you. You choose to stay."_  
"_It's the White House."_

"_It's not the White House, it's him."_

What was she supposed to do? He had given her everything. He had taught her everything. What would she tell CJ? Not that he wanted her back, anyways. He didn't want her there. But was she really needed at the White House? The campaign could produce some lasting opportunities, not an honor that would end in 100 days.

_"What should I be doing...instead of this?"_

_"Anything... anything that doesn't have to do with Josh Lyman."_

"Donna?"

She looked up.

"Sorry. Just… zoned out for a minute."

"Thinking about something?"

"Yeah." She severely needed a drink of a stronger nature.

"Want to share?"

"Just… a conversation I had before Gaza."

"With Josh?"

"With CJ."

"And?"

"If we're going to do this…"

"Right. Alcohol."


	8. Illegal Nuclear Transfers

Donna leaned towards him.

"I mean it's jus the way she said it" she slurred, kicking her feet against the bar, "She's onea my best friends, an she knows how I feel an everything…"

Will nodded.

"Yeah. That sure does suck quite a bit."

She put her head down on the bar.

"WiiiiiiIIiilllllll I jus don't know what to do"

Will wrinkled his brow and finished off anther beer.

"Well you've got a pint," he laughed, "point. You've got a point. And a pint. In addition to the couple I've had and you've had and…" He chuckled into a slight snort, twirling around on his bar stool.

Donna sat straight up and focused her eyes as much as possible.

"Will, this is a serious matter. I'msnot kidding." She giggled

He cleared his throat and straightened up as well, glancing around the bar.

"I think I've got it"

"got what?" Donna asked, confused

"A plan. On what you should do."

"Ok tell me"

"So first, we go to the grocery store. We buy some bananas. They need to be solid yellow, no green, no brown – just ripe bananas. We get some creamy peanut butter, some wheat bread, and maybe even some honey. Then, we go back to my place and turn on the stove and get a frying pan. I will, at that point, find some wine, while you cut the bananas into little pieces about a quarter inch thick, and fry them just a little bit until they bubble on the top. While you're doing this, I'll be consuming more alcohol and attempting to spread a mix of peanut butter and honey on the bread. We will then put the banana slices on the bread and have sandwiches while watching re-runs of Iron Chef on the Food Network."

Donna's eyes watered up and she burst out laughing.

"Okay. Okay, alright, lets go, I can stand, we're good, lets go."

Will chuckled, paid their tab and stood. They both took several moments to relearn the skills necessary for walking, then headed towards the door. Donna bumped full force into Will and he ran into the side of the door. They both bent over laughing, completely inebriated.

A bulb flashed.

Will held his hand in front of his face. Donna bit her lip and chuckled. There were several more flashes. Will grabbed onto her arm and they walked past the photographers. There weren't many – two or three, tops, but enough to cause a bit of trouble in the morning.

They ducked into the corner grocery.

"Do you think it'll be a story?" Donna grabbed a small basket and dashed towards the fruit.

"I dono. Shouldn't be too bad."

He grabbed some peanut butter, a 12-pack, honey, bread, and aspirin before they headed to the Cashier and out the door. Donna waved madly in the air to hail a cab, which Will found incredibly amusing, and they finally got themselves off the street and into Will's apartment.

Donna immediately found a frying pan, because the whole idea seemed very exciting to her, and turned on the oven. Will handed her another beer and took off his coat. Her eyes lit up.

"I've got it."

"What? We're already frying bananas and we can't really get back to the store…"

"No. About the job. I've got a plan that doesn't involve peanut butter."

"Shoot."

"So tomorrow, you'll inevitably get a question about your relationship with the stunning Donnatella Moss, and why you were seen last night stammering drunkenly out of a Georgetown bar in each others arms, AP photo included. You'll dryly give them the truth, of course, that we're merely friends having a fun evening. But to make sure nothing comes of it, I'll tell CJ that I feel badly and don't want to jeopardize your career as Communications Director, and I'll give her my letter of resignation. I'll also tell her that I have been offered another job working under Louise Thornton, and if she doesn't like it she can bite my ass."

"Not quite as good as peanut butter, honey, and banana sandwiches, but I'll take it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "but if you really plan to tell the White House Chief of Staff to bite your ass, tell me first"

"It's not like there'd be any political fallout…"

"No no no, I just want to see it."

They laughed. Donna plopped onto the couch and Will curled up in an armchair with the remote. As promised, Iron Chef was to be viewed until morning. The secret ingredient this time… Asparagus!

Commercials.

"You think it's going to be weird?"

Donna looked over at him.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, the new job."

"Not really. I mean, it can't be too different from the VP's campaign, can it?"

"Donna…" he whined, "you know, with Josh – working for him again"

She was quick to stop him.

"I'm working for Louise Thornton."

"Yeah, but he's the campaign manager."

"Yeah"

"and you're working for the campaign"

"Yeah"

"so you're working for him."

"Yeah… no… I don't know."

"I'm taking that as a yes."

She sighed deeply.

"I guess. I wish it could be like it was, kinda, but then again, I don't regret leaving."

Donna took a big bite out of her fried banana-peanut butter-honey sandwich and leaned back. She had been on the verge of a killer headache all night long. A few more beers helped.

"Betcha the Iron Chef wins" She smirked, brushed her hair out of her face.

"Always does. At least usually, you know."

The volume was low. Their lack of words was palpable – Will took a deep breath.

"Donna… just tell me, as a friend…tell me the truth"

"Hm?" she glanced over at him

"Are you in love with him?"

She pursed her lips. Her eyes closed, and her face was slightly lit with the soft blue light of the television. Words did not come. She nodded.


	9. It's What I Want to Do

Donna had fallen asleep before the verdict of battle Octopus, the third episode of their little marathon, and woken up rather abruptly at 5 am. She glanced over to the chair where she had last seen Will. He was barely in it, now, his glasses were crooked and he was twitching his nose. She poked him.

"Wake up."

He closed his eyes tighter. "It is not morning. Tell me it is not morning."

"It was morning when we fell asleep."

"I sort of want to die."

"Yeah. Feeling that." She pulled out her cell phone. "I'm calling a cab. If I don't at least shower and change clothes, today will be far worse than already expected."

He made a undeterminable noise and stood.

"You going to talk to CJ today?"

"I think I have to."

"Yeah. Okay. Well… not to be a horrible host, though I think we're past that, but I'm getting in the shower. I'll see you in what, an hour?"

"Yeah" she smiled "thanks Will, you know, for hanging out. It was fun. Unhealthy, but really fun."

About 45 minutes later, a slightly refreshed Donna wandered into her office. She glanced around. This was going to be hard.

"You Okay?"

Margaret raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah… just… long night. Hey, is she in?"

"Uh-huh"

"Can I get a few minutes, as soon as possible?"

"Yeah" she flipped through some papers, "how about lunch?"

"That's be great."

"These are for you" She handed Donna a stack of papers

"Briefings?"

"Oh yeah."

"Thanks." She turned to go "Hey, Donna?" She turned again.

"Yeah?"

"You're leaving, right?"

She winced. Margaret was good. "I… don't know. Probably."

Margaret smiled. She turned and headed back towards CJ's office.

"You've got Kate now and lunch with Donna, then the teleconference with-"

"Yeah. Send her in."

CJ was distracted. Kate was talking… or something. Honestly, she hadn't listened to her in days. She had read the briefings, of course, but actually listening…

"CJ?"

"Mm… uh, yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah… hey how do you feel about ham and cheese?"

"Excuse me?"

"As a sandwich."

"Okay, I'm going to go now."

"Kay." She leaned back in her chair "**Margaret**?"

"Yes?"

"Can I get a ham and cheese sandwich on… on that bread with the crunchy little pieces in it?"

"Of course. Donna's here."

"Yeah."

Donna poked her head through the door. "Hey"

"Come on in"

She walked in and took a seat.

"So… you wanted to see me?" CJ shuffled through some papers

"Yeah… you doing alright?"

"Sure."

"Okay… well… God this is weird…"

CJ looked up. Now she was paying attention.

"Donna… what's that in your hand?"

"CJ, in a few minutes you're going to hear something about an alleged relationship between myself and Will Bailey and possibly even some pictures of us stumbling out of a bar…"

"Donna-"

"Look, I don't want to cause any trouble. I don't want there to be a scene. I've got another job lined up" she handed the envelope in her hand over the desk "and my letter of resignation from… whatever job it was that I had…"

CJ took a breath. She studied Donna's face, then hit a button on her phone.

"Margaret, get me whatever articles appear in the morning papers on Donna Moss and Will Bailey please"

"CJ, I'm really sorry about all this, I-"

"Oh shut up, Donna. You got a job on the campaign."

"I was going to tell you…"

"Did he finally break down and call you, or what?"

"Actually, no."

"Well what the hell happened?"

"Louise Thornton offered me a position as spokesperson"

"He doesn't know."

"I'm really not sure"

"This is a bad idea"

"CJ, as much as I value your opinion, I can make this decision on my own."

"I thought you… I thought we talked about…"

"It's not about him."

"Like hell it's not!"

"It's not. It's about securing a future."

"He's not going to like it."

"Maybe not. Look, like it or not, next year things are going to change. Working here has been… the most important thing I have ever done… but you've got enough people to help you end this administration with a bang. I want to be here when another one starts."

CJ nodded. She closed her eyes.

"Get something done out there, okay?"

Donna smiled.

"Always."

She turned to leave.

"Donna?"

"Yeah?"

"You and Will?"

"He helped me make some decisions. We're friends."

"I had to ask"

"Yeah. I'll… see you soon."

"Call whenever. If I'm not, you know, avoiding crisis, I'd love to chat."

There was a beat of silence.

"Claudia Jean, I do believe your memo is incorrect. Firstly, there are 12 Russian-"

The President stopped.

"Ah. My apologies, I thought you were alone."

The two women were standing.

"Hello, Donna"

"Good afternoon, Mr. President."

"I was just leaving, sir."

CJ brushed off her skirt.

"Sir, today will be Donna's last day with us."

He gave a concerned look.

"Surely not. She just got back!"

"She's joining the campaign, sir."

He nodded. "Well, you keep them in line, Donnatella."

"Yes sir. It's been an honor."

"Yes it has. Now shoo – I have to scold CJ mockingly for a bit longer.

"Thank you Mr. President"

She closed the door behind her and pressed her back against the wall. Just get out of here without crying, she thought, that's all you need to do.

It was harder the second time.

Donna woke up a few hours later.

She was at home, in her own bed with an empty pint of ice cream on her nightstand.

She picked up her phone and checked her messages, then found a note she had written herself a few days earlier and punched the numbers into her cell.

"Yeah?"

"Donna Moss for Louise Thornton please"

"Speaking"

"Oh, hi. I was just returning your call…"

"Yeah, listen Donna let me just cut to the chase here. I really want you on board. We're understaffed and there's a lot of work to do, it can't wait till Friday either. Are you in?"

"Yeah."


End file.
